Keynote Speaker
Candace S. Matthews Chief Marketing Officer, Amway Corp.
MBA '85
Black Enterprise 2009 Corporate Executive of the Year
Candace Matthews leads the global enterprise marketing strategy for Amway. As Chief Marketing Officer, she heads the Global Marketing Team focusing on Global Category Marketing (including Beauty, Wellness and HomeCare; Global Amway Brand, and Consumer and Market Insights, as well as Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Communications.
Matthews joined Amway in December 2007, bringing an impressive background in consumer marketing and general management. She previously served as president of Soft-Sheen Carson, Consumer Products Division of L’OREAL USA, and also held positions as vice president, New Product and Package Innovation, and as managing director, Non-Cola Brands, with the Coca-Cola Company. In addition, she held senior marketing positions at the CIBA Vision Corporation; Bausch & Lomb, Oral Care Division; Proctor & Gamble, Cosmetics & Fragrance Division; and General Mills, where she began her marketing career.
Matthews devotes much of her time to charity work, and has received accolades for community service and her work in the marketing industry. In New York City, her involvement in the African-American community there includes heading the L’OREAL Soft-Sheen Carson Scholarship Program. She serves as chair of the Board of Directors for Figure Skating in Harlem, a not-for-profit organization founded to provide opportunities for girls in the community through the discipline and art of figure skating. In 2007, Matthews received the Cosmetic Executive Women Achiever Award, and in 2006 she was given the Ebony Outstanding Women in Marketing and Communications Award.
Matthews is a member of the Executive Leadership Council and past member of the Board of Trustees at Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh. She also serves on the boards of the Stanford University Graduate School of Business Advisory Council, Cosmetic Executive Women, and Figure Skating in Harlem. Her professional background and her community service have landed her on the pages of such major publications as Ebony, Essence, Black Enterprise, Glamour, Salon Sense, and the Wall Street Journal and was named 2009 Corporate Executive of the Year by Black Enterprise Magazine.
Matthews received a bachelor of science degree in metallurgical engineering and administrative & management science from Carnegie-Mellon University, as well as an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Matthews is a native of New Brighton, Penn., and the youngest of 18 children. She resides in Ada, Mich. with her husband and three children.
Alticor (www.alticor.com) is the parent company of Amway Corp., which operates Amway Global,, Access Business Group LLC, and Alticor Corporate Enterprises. Headquartered in Ada, Michigan, USA, Alticor and its affiliates offer products, business opportunities, and manufacturing and logistics services in more than 80 countries and territories worldwide. In its most recent fiscal year, the company reported worldwide sales of $8.2 billion. For further information, please contact Alticor’s media information line at 616.787.7565 or e-mail Alticor’s media relations staff at mediainfo@alticor.com.